Updating

Abstrax can update itself from GitHub releases. You can use the built-in self update command (recommended), follow the manual release archive steps (the same method used during installation), or rebuild from source if you installed that way.

Updating the binary does not change anything you have already configured on the server. Users, firewall rules, projects, cron jobs, databases, and certificates live in the system, not in the binary. Abstrax config in /etc/abstrax and runtime state in /var/lib/abstrax are not modified by an update.

Check your current version

abstrax version

This prints the version, commit, and build date, for example:

abstrax 1.0.1 (commit abc1234, built 2024-01-01T12:00:00Z)

For JSON output:

abstrax version --json

Option 1: Self-update (recommended)

abstrax self update downloads the correct release archive from GitHub, verifies it using the published SHA-256 checksums file, extracts the binary, and replaces the currently running executable. It requires root and works on linux/amd64 and linux/arm64.

Update to the newest compatible release:

sudo abstrax self update

By default, Abstrax follows semantic versioning. It updates to the latest release within your current major version and skips releases that include breaking changes. For example, if you are on 1.0.1 and both 1.1.0 and 2.0.0 are available, Abstrax updates to 1.1.0 and not 2.0.0.

Update to a specific version (validated against GitHub before downloading):

sudo abstrax self update 1.2.0

Upgrade across a major version when you are ready for breaking changes:

sudo abstrax self update --allow-breaking

Preview what would happen without making changes:

abstrax self update --dry-run

Show download URLs and the install path:

sudo abstrax self update --verbose

How version selection works

If you are already on the latest compatible release but a newer major version is available, Abstrax tells you and suggests running abstrax self update --allow-breaking when you are ready.

What the command does

When an update is needed, self update performs the same core steps as the manual release archive method:

1. Queries the GitHub releases API for published versions
2. Resolves the target version using the rules above
3. Downloads abstrax_<version>_linux_<arch>.tar.gz from GitHub
4. Downloads abstrax_<version>_checksums.txt
5. Verifies the archive SHA-256 hash against the checksums file
6. Extracts the abstrax binary from the archive
7. Replaces the executable that is currently running (not necessarily /usr/local/bin/abstrax)

Abstrax replaces the path returned by the running process, so it works whether you installed to /usr/local/bin/abstrax, /usr/bin/abstrax from a package, or another location on your PATH.

Example output

After a successful update:

Updated from 1.0.1 to 1.1.0.

When already up to date:

You are already on the latest compatible release (1.1.0).

When a major release is also available:

WARNING: A newer major release (2.0.0) is available with breaking changes. Run `abstrax self update --allow-breaking` when you are ready to upgrade.

JSON output includes structured fields such as current_version, target_version, updated, already_up_to_date, and breaking_update_available:

sudo abstrax self update --json

See Self for full command reference.

Option 2: Update from a release archive

This is the manual, fully transparent method. Every step is visible, so you can see exactly what is downloaded and verify it before it runs. Use this if you prefer not to use the built-in updater, or if you need to update a binary on a machine where the installed copy of Abstrax is too old to include self update.

Releases are published as compressed archives on the GitHub releases page. GoReleaser builds tar.gz archives for linux/amd64 and linux/arm64, named abstrax_<version>_linux_<arch>.tar.gz (for example abstrax_1.0.0_linux_amd64.tar.gz). Each release tag uses a v prefix (for example v1.0.0), but the version in the filename omits it.

Set the release version and your architecture, then download, verify, and install:

# Replace with the release version from the releases page, without the leading v
VERSION="1.0.0"

# x86_64 servers use amd64; aarch64/ARM servers use arm64 (check with: uname -m)
ARCH="amd64"

wget "https://github.com/useabstrax/abstrax/releases/download/v${VERSION}/abstrax_${VERSION}_linux_${ARCH}.tar.gz"
wget "https://github.com/useabstrax/abstrax/releases/download/v${VERSION}/abstrax_${VERSION}_checksums.txt"

sha256sum -c "abstrax_${VERSION}_checksums.txt" 2>&1 | grep "abstrax_${VERSION}_linux_${ARCH}.tar.gz"

tar -xzf "abstrax_${VERSION}_linux_${ARCH}.tar.gz"
chmod +x abstrax
sudo mv abstrax /usr/local/bin/abstrax

To update to the latest release without looking up the version number:

VERSION=$(wget -qO- "https://api.github.com/repos/useabstrax/abstrax/releases/latest" | grep -Po '"tag_name": "\K[^"]+' | sed 's/^v//')
ARCH="amd64"   # or arm64

wget "https://github.com/useabstrax/abstrax/releases/download/v${VERSION}/abstrax_${VERSION}_linux_${ARCH}.tar.gz"
wget "https://github.com/useabstrax/abstrax/releases/download/v${VERSION}/abstrax_${VERSION}_checksums.txt"

sha256sum -c "abstrax_${VERSION}_checksums.txt" 2>&1 | grep "abstrax_${VERSION}_linux_${ARCH}.tar.gz"

tar -xzf "abstrax_${VERSION}_linux_${ARCH}.tar.gz"
chmod +x abstrax
sudo mv abstrax /usr/local/bin/abstrax

Each release publishes a SHA-256 checksums file named abstrax_<version>_checksums.txt. The commands above download it and verify the archive before extracting. If the checksum check fails, do not install the binary.

If you installed to a different path, replace /usr/local/bin/abstrax with the path where your binary lives. To find it:

which abstrax

Then confirm the new version:

abstrax version

Option 3: Update using the convenience script

The install script performs the same basic steps as the manual release archive method. It always installs the latest release to /usr/local/bin/abstrax. It does not support semver-aware updates or targeting a specific version.

If you originally installed with the script, you can run it again to pick up the latest release:

wget https://useabstrax.com/install.sh
less install.sh
sudo bash install.sh

Or in a single command:

wget -qO- https://useabstrax.com/install.sh | sudo bash

The script detects architecture, downloads the archive and checksums file, verifies the SHA-256 hash, extracts the binary, and installs it. If you prefer every step to be visible on the command line, use Option 2 instead.

Option 4: Update a source build

If you installed by building from source, pull the latest code and rebuild:

cd abstrax/cli
git pull
go build -o abstrax ./cmd/abstrax
sudo mv abstrax /usr/local/bin/abstrax

See Building from source for full detail on release builds, cross-compilation, and packaging.

Option 5: Update a package installation

If you installed Abstrax from a .deb or .rpm package, update using your package manager when a newer package is available, or use abstrax self update which replaces the binary at its installed path (typically /usr/bin/abstrax).

Verify the update

After any update method, confirm the binary runs and reports the expected version:

abstrax version
abstrax doctor

doctor works without root and is a good smoke test that the updated binary is functioning.

Next steps

• Installation - install Abstrax for the first time.
• Uninstalling - remove Abstrax from your server.
• Self command reference - flags and behaviour for abstrax self update.